AMBLER, Walter Cecil Claude
| Service Number: | 2328 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 19th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Mudgee, Mid-Western Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 27 July 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2328, 19th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2328, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Walter Cecil Claude AMBLER, (Service Number 2328) born in 1889 in Mudgee, joined the NSWGR as a labourer in 1910, then worked 1911-1912 as a fettler, before transferring to the Traffic Branch in January 1913. Initially a porter, he became a signalman in March 1913, and before transferring to Newnes Junction as night officer in April 1915 was a signalman in Eskbank Yard.
He enlisted in the AIF at Liverpool in July 1915. Landed in France in March 1916, he was awarded the Military Medal for ‘conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at Pozières on 26 July 1916. During a heavy bombardment of the trenches, he… attended to wounded and administered First Aid with much skill. While doing so he was wounded but refused to go to the dressing station and continued to attend to his wounded comrades…’
He was reported again wounded and missing the following day. A Court of Enquiry held in December 1917 finally amended this to ‘killed in action’. He has no known grave but is commemorated with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
His widow and daughter were granted pensions by the authorities.
(NAA B2455-3032662)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes